NUCLEAR FUEL ASSEMBLY SPACER GRID EQUIPPED WITH HYBRID FLOW MIXER

• Main Authors: KANG HEUNGSEOK, YOON KYUNGHO, KIM HYUNGKYU, OH DONGSEOK, IN WANGKEE, CHUN TAEHYUN, SONG KEENAM, JUNG YOUNHO
• Format: Patent
• Language: English
• Published: 12.03.2003
• Edition: 7
• Subjects: GENERAL TAGGING OF CROSS-SECTIONAL TECHNOLOGIES SPANNING OVER SEVERAL SECTIONS OF THE IPC; GENERAL TAGGING OF NEW TECHNOLOGICAL DEVELOPMENTS; NUCLEAR ENGINEERING; NUCLEAR PHYSICS; NUCLEAR REACTORS; PHYSICS; REDUCTION OF GREENHOUSE GAS [GHG] EMISSIONS, RELATED TO ENERGYGENERATION, TRANSMISSION OR DISTRIBUTION; TECHNICAL SUBJECTS COVERED BY FORMER USPC CROSS-REFERENCE ART COLLECTIONS [XRACs] AND DIGESTS; TECHNOLOGIES OR APPLICATIONS FOR MITIGATION OR ADAPTATION AGAINSTCLIMATE CHANGE

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To improve fuel rod cooling performance in a spacer grid constituting a nuclear fuel assembly by compositely and strongly generating a turbulent flow, a forced lateral flow and a rotating flow without largely increasing the pressure loss to a cooling water flow. SOLUTION: This nuclear fuel assembly spacer grid comprises a hybrid flow mixer comprising a number of grid straps formed by repetitively arranging in parallel a number of first unit straps having lateral flow generation parts integrally formed on the upper parts and a number of second unit straps having rotating flow generation parts integrally formed on the upper parts. The grid straps are arranged and connected to mutually cross in the vertical and lateral directions to form a number of intersection points, so that the first unit strap having the lateral flow generation part formed thereon crosses the second unit strap having the rotating flow generation part formed thereon in each of the intersection point to provide the mutually different rotating flow generation part and lateral flow generation part in the upper part of each intersection point. The hybrid flow mixer has the effect of enhancing the cooling performance by compositely and strongly generating the cooling water flow in various flowing forms to break a temperature boundary layer formed near the surface, and moderating the temperature unbalance between water passages.